I never cease to be fascinated and amazed by the contradictions in the human condition; by the motivations for crime and the human penchant for violence - especially when it involves the killing another human being and the circumstances for such acts - and by criminology and science. I also have a bit of a passion for ancient and recent Mediterranean history. Though I'm based in south-west France, I spend time between France and Australia, where I was born. I was a student during the social revolution of the nineteen sixties and seventies' Vietnam War years, travelling widely in those years. ... I studied literature, politics and law. I trained as a lawyer and later became a law professor; I worked mainly in litigation, criminal and civil; and specialized in criminology and in aviation through various postgraduate work and completed my Ph.D. in that area. ... I pursued a career in Australia, Switzerland and in Hong Kong, writing a couple of dozen law-related academic and educational books, especially in the fields of aviation and criminal litigation and dozens of academic articles. I am widely recognized as an international authority in his areas of expertise. I gave much of that up to sail the South China Seas, then returned to live in south west France where I and my family have a few dogs and raise horses. Although I continue with some academic writing my main passion is literature. I have written some one-act plays but my first significant published novel is "BEGINNINGS: Where A Life Begins" which was completed in late 2013. °°°°°°° BEGINNINGS : Where A Life Begins .... Tales of Survival and Revenge ... is an epic historical tale of genetic memories spanning millenia. Set in the Basque country of Spain and France over two decades of Spain's civil war, nazi occupation, liberation, recrimination and political division, powerful characters play out an ancient cycle of murder and revenge resurfacing thru history with multi-layered themes of love, intrigue, myth, science and true historical detail. The story explores lesser known events during the late stone-age, Phoenician exploration, Carthaginian conquest, Visigoth rule and the Spanish inquisition. You can read it either in its full version ... "BEGINNINGS : Where A Life Begins" ....or ........in 6 instalments: http://amzn.to/L7c2Ux—or at http://www.lelivro.com/author?id=150 — "I. GENESIS & RESURRECTION"; "II. COMING of the PHOENICIANS"; "III. LIFE and LOSS"; "IV. TIMES of TROUBLE"; "V. DISSENT & DELIVRANCE"; and "VI. THE RECKONING". A sequel to his novel BEGINNINGS is underway, but in the meantime Gary is writing a sort of memoir about his early life, growing up in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, Australia in the 1950s and some of the dogs he has known.